Chicago Bulls in fall-back position
The Chicago Bulls should have known their six-game winning streak wouldn't last forever.
But once things turned in the wrong direction, they've gone really bad. In fact, the Bulls regressed all the way back to the 2014 playoffs on Monday night.
The Bulls were dominated from start to finish by a short-handed Washington Wizards squad 114-100 at the United Center. This game felt a lot like the first-round playoff series two years ago when the Bulls were thoroughly dominated in a five-game loss to Washington.
If it's any consolation, the Bulls did stretch their string of scoring 100 points to 11 straight games, matching the team's longest streak since 1992. But they've given up 234 points in the last two games and watched the opponent ring up at least 60 first-half points in four of the last five contests.
“We go on a nice win streak, things were going well,” coach Fred Hoiberg said. “We hit a little adversity, put our heads down and lose our fight. That's hard when you have that.”
After the game, the Bulls' locker room was quiet and empty, with most of the regulars staying out of sight. Pau Gasol finally emerged and was asked how much this loss hurt.
“I think there's been a handful of painful losses, especially in this building,” Gasol said. “If you want to be a top team, you want to be a contender for the title, that's something you can't afford. Championship teams don't do that, bottom line.”
It would make no sense to blame this loss on the return of Joakim Noah from a left-shoulder injury. The Bulls (22-14) didn't alter the starting lineup, and the starters and subs were equally bad.
Noah didn't score, but he grabbed 9 rebounds and had 4 assists in 19 minutes, his first game action since Dec. 21. He went 0-for-7 from the field, mostly on tip attempts.
The Wizards have been missing shooting guard Bradley Beal (leg) for 16 games. On Monday, they didn't have center Marcin Gortat (sore knee), but that left Washington with a smaller, athletic team that gave the Bulls all kinds of trouble. The Bulls were outworked and out-hustled throughout this one.
The Wizards (17-19) put seven players in double figures, led by John Wall with 17. Guard Ramon Sessions scored 16 off the bench. Ex-Bull Drew Gooden was surprisingly effective, with 7 of his 12 rebounds coming on the offensive end. Washington finished with a 21-7 edge in second-chance points and won fastbreak points 20-13.
“(Bad matchups) shouldn't affect your energy. That shouldn't affect how you approach the game,” Hoiberg said. “Did they have some matchup problems? Sure. Again, you've got to show some fight.”
Asked to pick out some specific reasons the Bulls' defense has been so bad the last two games, Hoiberg chose communication.
“The guys on our bench talk more than the guys that are on the floor, for whatever reason,” he said.
This wasn't a great way for the Bulls to start their only stretch of four games in five nights all season. They bussed to Milwaukee after Monday's loss.
“There needs to be more communication, more physicality on the defensive end, work as a unit,” Gasol said. “Some players are quieter than others. But we have to work on it. You have to force yourself to speak, communicate out there to let your teammate know what's going on.”
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